GAMEDAY 18 - vs Screaming Eagles

GAMEDAY

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight, October 28, 2011 at 7:30pm

Harbour Station

PREVIEW

SAINT JOHN – The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles are in town tonight for the first time this season. Game time is 7:30pm at Harbour Station.

The Eagles enter action today with a record of 7-10-0-1 for 15 points. They sit fifth in the Maritimes Division and 13^th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They are 11 points back of the league-leading Victoriaville Tigres and nine points back of the division-leading Saint John Sea Dogs.

Cape Breton defeated Saint John 8-5 in their only previous meeting of the season back on September 16 at Centre 200. Dany Potvin scored three goals while David Rose, Cory MacIntosh, JC Campagna, Sebastien Payette and William Carrier scored singles. Alexandre Veronneau made 23 stops in net for the win.

A lot has changed since that game, though. Saint John was without the likes of Jonathan Huberdeau, Zack Phillips, Nathan Beaulieu, Tomas Jurco, Mathieu Corbeil, Danick Gauthier and all the others who took part in National Hockey League rookie and/training camps.

On September 16, Oliver Cooper had two goals. Aidan Kelly, Kraig Pasher and Stephen Anderson added solo markers while Charlie Millen made 29 stops in the loss. The Sea Dogs led 4-1 in the second period but eventually blew that lead. Given the Sea Dogs’ lineup that night, they didn’t do all that bad.

Saint John’s lineup will have a lot more familiar names in it this evening when the two teams clash.

Saint John enters action tonight with a record of 12-5-0-0 for 24 points. They sit first in the Maritimes Division and second overall in the league. They are two points back of the league-leading Tigres with two games in hand.

The Sea Dogs have won five straight and coming off a dominating three-in-three performance last weekend. They defeated the Halifax Mooseheads 5-0, PEI Rocket 10-3 and the Quebec Remparts 6-0.

NOTES: Denis Kindl leads the Eagles in scoring with nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in 18 games. Jonathan Brunelle is second on the team in points with five goals and 10 assists for 15 points… Kindl’s nine goals are a team high. Dany Potvin is second on the team with six… David Rose a team leading 11 assists. Brunelle is second with 10… Loic Leduc is a team best +6… Brunelle is a Cape Breton worst -9… Leduc and Potvin each have 24 penalty minutes to lead the team… Morgan Ellis has scored three power play goals. Cory MacIntosh and Potvin each have two… Brunelle has taken a team high 78 shots… Kindl is seventh in the league in first goals with three… 2-7-0-1 in their last 10 games and have lost two straight… 3-6-0-1 on the road and have been outscored 41-26… Cape Breton’s power play is 16^th in the league with a rating of 16%... their penalty kill is running at 74.7% which is good for 11^th in the league.

IN NET: Alexandre Veronneau will likely get the start for Cape Breton tonight. Veronneau has a record of 5-6-0-0, a goals against average of 4.04 and a save percentage of 0.845.

LAST GAME: The Eagles are coming off a 5-2 loss in Victoriaville last Sunday afternoon. Denis Kindl and Jonathan Brunelle each scored in the loss. Logan Shaw had two assists. Alexandre Veronneau made 24 stops while Philippe Trudeau made two.

Best Screaming Eagles Video We Could Find On YouTube: Easy choice.

NOTES: Danick Gauthier leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with 16 goals and four assists for 20 points. Zack Phillips is second with eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points on the year… Gauthier’s 16 goals are a team high. Phillips is second with eight while Tomas Jurco has seven… Jonathan Huberdeau has a Saint John high 12 assists. Phillips has 11 and Ryan Tesink has 10… defenseman Charles-Olivier Roussel is a team best +17. Kevin Gagne is a +15… Devin Oliver-Dares is a Sea Dogs worst -4… Ian Saab has served a team high 48 penalty minutes… Gauthier has scored four power play goals. Phillips has three… Phillips has taken a team high 52 shots… Gauthier is tied with Bathurst’s Zach O’Brien for the league lead in goals with 16… Gauthier is fourth in the league in shorthanded goals with two… Gauthier is tied for league lead in game winning goals with three… Gauthier is fourth in the league in first goals with three… 10 of the top 20 plus/minus players are Sea Dogs… Huberdeau and Stephen MacAulay are tied for the league lead in shorthanded assists with three each… 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games and have won five straight… 7-1-0-0 at home and have outscored opponents 47-19… Saint John’s power play is running at 18.3% which places them 15^th in the league… the Sea Dogs’ penalty kill is ranked 15^th in the league as well with a rating of 71.2%.

IN NET: Mathieu Corbeil will likely get the start in net this evening. He has a record of 9-2-0-0 to go with a goals against average of 2.11 and a 0.915 save percentage.

Corbeil was solid last weekend, picking up two shutouts. He has not allowed a goal since the 18:05 mark of the third period on October 15 in Val-d’Or.

LAST GAME: The Sea Dogs are coming off a great 6-0 win over the Quebec Remparts last Sunday at Harbour Station. Danick Gauthier scored twice while singles came from Tomas Jurco, Jason Cameron, Nathan Beaulieu and Charles-Olivier Roussel. Mathieu Corbeil stopped all 22 shots he faced to earn the shutout win.

OUT OF TOWN

P.E.I. at Moncton - 7:00 PM ADT

Baie-Comeau at Quebec - 7:00 PM EDT

Acadie-Bathurst at Victoriaville - 7:00 PM EDT

Drummondville at Gatineau - 7:30 PM EDT

Rimouski at Shawinigan - 7:30 PM EDT

Halifax at Val-d'Or - 7:30 PM EDT

THE RINK

Venue: Harbour Station

Capacity: 6,297

Average Attendance: 3,736

QMJHL Arena Guide

MEDIA GUIDE

Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM

Live Web Feed: Telus

Television: None

Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Telegraph-Journal, Cape Breton Post

Live Coverage: Follow Station Nation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/station_nation) for live in game coverage. All tweets will also appear in the SN Live Blog that is posted on this site.

NEXT GAME

The Sea Dogs will raise their Memorial Cup banners to the rafters tomorrow night at 7pm against the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Ticket availability is limited.